Steering wheel cigarette case



y 8 944- 1H. P. BLAY ETAL 2,353,806

STEERING WHEEL CIGARETTE CASE Filed Aug. 26, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIIAammm in!!! IN TO HAROLD P. BLHY. VEN RS E 2 BY FRED G. THHNNHAUSER.

A TTORNE Y6 July 18, 1944. H. P. BLAY ETAL STEERING WHEEL CIGARETTE CASEFiled Aug. 26, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

Patented July 18, 1944 s'rcmmc warm; CIGARETTE case Application August26, 1942, Serial No. 456,166

3 Claims.

My present invention comprises a cigarette dis-- pensing device for anautomotive vehicle, the device being designed and arranged to facilitatewithdrawal of a cigarette therefrom without distracting the attention ofthe operator from his duties as a driver. The primary object of thepresent invention is to promote safe driving and afford a greater degreeof safety to drivers and pedestrians alike.-

The present invention comprises a cigarette dispensing device adapted tobe mounted centrally of the steering wheel so as to be within theoperators range of vision, without being so located as to interfere withthe operators line of sight to the road, the device comprising means toproject a cigarette upward toward the operator's line of vision to theroad. The position of the cigarette partially ejected from the device issuch as to b readily visible to th operator without taking his eyes fromthe road.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cigarettedispensing device comprising a holder adapted to retain a plurality ofcigarettes, feeding mechanism adapted to place the cigarettes singly inposition to be ejected, and an ejecting device adapted to eject a singlecigarette partially from the holder so as to be within the reach of theoperator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cigarettedispensing device comprising a holder which maybe easily filled with aplurality of cigarettes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a convenientlyaccessible cigarette dispensing device which will occupy aninconspicuous 2..

location, not mar the artistic arrangement of the vehicle, and beavailable as an optional accessory to a standard automotive vehicle.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bereadily understood by reference tothe following specification andaccompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like partsthroughout.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 discloses a view in side elevation of a conventional steeringwheel and a portion of the steering wheel post of an automotive vehicle.the remainder of the vehicle not being illustrated as the position of asteering wheel within a vehicle is at present so standardized as torequire no further illustration;

Fig. 2 is a full view on an enlarged scale of the steering wheel anddispensing device taken in the projection of the arrows 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a further sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a further sectional line 5'-l of Fig. 2;

view taken along Fig. 6 is an irregular sectional view takensubstantially along line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of the cigarettedispensing deviceseparated from the steering wheel; and

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional view of the dispensing device showingmeans for latching the feeding mechanism to facilitate loading of thedevice with cigarettes.

Figs. 1 and 2 disclose a steering wheel comprising a rim l0 mounted on apair of arms extending from a hub, l2 associated with a steering post ItThe steering wheel is shown in the position it occupies in an automotivevehicle so as to hem front of and within the normal field of vision ofthe operator with the hub |2 below the op'erators line of sight to theroad. When the wheel is centered the arms lie in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, as illustrated in Fig.

2, so as not to interfere with the operator's line.

of sight to the road, the only possible interference being thatoccasioned by a small portion of the rim ill. The wheel is illustratedas being pro.- vided with a horn ring H held in place by a mountingplate I5 extending across the top of the hub, and secured by screws IEto the arms The ring has extensions l1 extending beneath the arms Hwhich are fastened to the contact plate l8 extending across the top ofthe hub of the wheel. Pressure at any point on the ring it causescontact to be made in the horn circuit through means not fullyillustrated herein as such means ar not a part of the present invention.It is to be appreciated that the plate l5 provides a mounting surfacefor the dispenser of the present invention, which plate may be replacedby a conventional, solid plate mounted upon the arms M if the dispenseris not desired.

The device of the present invention comprises an ornamental cover plate20 of substantially greater width than height so as to lie along thearms H on top of the plate IS. The plate 20 is provided with a cavitywithin which the holder 2| of the cigarette dispensing device is posi-'tioned. The holder 2| comprises a front wall 22 which is provided withcountersunk openings through which screws 23 may be passed to fasten theholder to the cover plate 20. A hinge 24 extends along the upper edge ofthe plate 20, one

arm of the hinge being fastened to the holder 2| and the other arm ofthe hinge being fastened to the-upper edge of the mounting plate I5 bymeans of countersunk screws 25. The lower edge of the holder 2| carriesa spring catch device 26 adapted to snap into a catch retainer 21mounted in the lower edge of the plate IS. A projection 28 adjacent thespring catch provides means whereby pressure may be applied to the loweredge of cover 20 to release the spring catch and permit the cover 20with 2,353,806: UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlC the holder 2i attachedthereto to be swung upwardly about the hinge 24 to expose the rear wall29 of the holder 2|. The rear wall 29 of the holder 2| is partially cutaway centrally thereof, as shown in Fig. 7, so as to facilitateinsertion of the cigarettes and it is provided with a transverse slot 29through which cigarettes may be inserted in filling the holder ashereinafter more clearly set forth. Access openings 30 are provided inthe rear wall through which a screw driver may be inserted to apply themounting screws 23.

The dispensing device comprises a springloaded feeding mechanismincluding a folded spring 35 retained between an end wall 36 of theholder and a channel shaped feeding bar 31. Two tabs 38 are struckoutward from a portion of the bar 31 and extend through the open portionof the rear wall 29 so as to permit manual compression of the spring 35toward the wall 36. The spring'may be retained in compressed position bya retaining means comprising a spring catch 39 having one end fastenedto the wall 36 by a rivet 49 which also retains the end of the spring 35and its free end provided with a tongue 4| adapted to snap over a hook42 struck upward from the wall of the feeding bar 31. When the springhas been compressed and retained in compressed position cigarettes maybe placed in the holder by inserting the same downwardly through theslot 29' and moving then rightwardly, as viewed in Fig. 7, toward theright extremity of the holder. An ejecting opening 45 is provided in theupper edge of the cover plate 20 in registration with an opening 45' inthe adjacent wall of the holder 2|, for accommodating discharge of onecigarette at a time. When the holder has been filled the spring may bereleased by pressing inward on the exposed portion of the retainer 39.The wall 22 of the holder is provided with tracks 46 within which areguided tangs l'l struck outwardly from a portion of the feeder bar 91,the tracks and tangs serving to keep the feeder bar in alignment so asto slide freely lengthwise of the holder.

The outermost cigarette may be ejected from the holder by means of anejecting device comprising a plunger 59 slidably mounted within anextension at the lower right corner of the cover plate 20 and providedwith a manual knob 92 within easy reach of the right hand of theoperator. The plunger is held within the holder by a spring 53compressed between the end wall of extension BI and the enlarged head 54of the plunger which is adapted to engage the end of a cigarette. Thespring may be compressed by .withdrawing the enlarged end 54 completelyfrom the holder 2| through an opening 55 opposite the opening 45 throughwhich the cigarettes are inserted and ejected. When the plunger iswithdrawn the last cigarette is fed into axial alignment therewith bythe feeding bar 91 so that retraction of the plunger by the action ofspring 53 causes an end of the cigarette to be thrust upwardly towardthe operators line of sight to the road-when the wheel is centered sothat the cigarette may be readily seen without taking the eyes from theroad.

It is also to be appreciated that modifications in arrangement anddetail will ..be apparent to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of my invention. All such modifications as come withinthe scope of the following claims are considered to be within thepurview of my invention.

We'claim:

1. In an automotive vehicle having a steerin wheel comprising a hubportion and occupying a position within the vehicle operators field ofvision and rotatable about a central axis, a cigarette dispensing devicemounted on said hub portion substantially centrally of said steeringwheel so as to be within the operator's field of vision. said dispensercomprising a holder for a plurality of cigarettes, a manually operableejecting device comprising a plunger reciprocable in a plane disposedtransversely of said axis and adapted to propel a single cigaretteupward in said plane from the dispenser toward the operators line ofsight to the road when the steering wheel is centered, and feedingmechanism adapted to feed cigarettes from the body of said holder intoaxial alignment with said plunger when said plunger is withdrawnpreparatory to ejecting a cigarette.

2. In an automotive vehicle having a steering wheel occupying a positionwithin the vehicle operators field of vision, a cigarette dispensingdevice mounted substantially centrally of said steering wheel so as tobe within the operators field of vision, said dispenser comprising aholder for a plurality of cigarettes, a manually operable ejectingdevice comprising a plunger adapted to propel a single cigarette upwardfrom the dispenser toward the operators line of sight to the road whenthe steering wheel is centered, and feeding mechanism adapted to feedcigarettes from the body of said holder into axial alignment with saidplunger when said plunger is withdrawn preparatory to ejecting acigarette, said holder being hingedly mounted along one edge so that itmaybe swung away from its normal position to a loading position exposingits rear surface, the back wall of said holder being a partial wall onlyso that cigarettes therein may be contacted by the fingers to facilitateloading of the holder.

3. In an automotive vehicle having a steering wheel occupying a positionwithin the vehicle operators field of vision, a cigarette dispensingdevice mounted substantially centrally of said steering wheel so as tobe within the operator's field of vision, said dispenser comprising aholder for a plurality of cigarettes, a manually operable ejectingdevice comprising a plunger adapted to propel a single cigarette upwardfrom the dispenser toward the operators line of sight to the road whenthe steering wheel is centered, and feeding mechanism adapted to feedcigarettes from the body of said holder into axial alignment with saidplunger when said plunger is withdrawn preparatory to ejecting a,cigarette, said holder being adapted to hold the cigarettes in parallel,side-by-side alignment and said feeding mechanism comprising a foldedspring compressible within the body of said holder between an end wallthereof and the cigarettes contained therein, said holder being hingedlymounted along one edge so that it may be swung away from its normalposition to a loading position exposing its rear wall, and its rear wallbeing partially cut away to expose a portion of said spring whereby saidmaybe compressed until said retainer is engaged.

FRED G. THANNHAUSER. HAROLD P. BLAY.

